Many As a business owner, I am well aware of the hard work and determination necessary to build a successful business here in Colorado. While there are many unique challenges to every business, most business owners will admit that some of their greatest difficulties come from inefficient and overbearing government. And for me, if the word frustration has a physical manifestation, it would take the form of the steady stream of government forms, licenses, and taxation.

Hoping to reduce some of this, I introduced House Bill 1063, which would have reduced taxes for all Colorado’s businesses. Specifically, my bill would have created a $50,000 business personal property (“BPP”) tax exemption
so the smallest of Colorado’s businesses would not have to file a list of their business inventory with their counties.Additionally, they would have saved a few hundred dollars in tax payments.(Under current law, there is a $7,300 threshold for business personal property taxes.)

Let’s consider the bill’s impact for a large county like Jefferson: of the 4,700 business owners who pay these BPP taxes, 2,700 would be exempted – 57%!But the County would
still receive 97.6% of the revenue from BPP tax.That is why the former tax assessor testified to the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee that the County could reduce 1 ½ employees if this bill passed because it costs the County more money to review, track and collect this tax from these small businesses than it receives in revenue.

Unfortunately for business owners in Colorado, Democrats killed House Bill 1063 on a party-line vote last week. Just like in the previous week, Democrats in the same committee killed a repeal of the “pizza box tax” by Representative Kevin Van Winkle to remove the tax on nonessential food and beverage
items. Both bills would have helped most Colorado businesses and their customers.But for small businesses, even modest tax relief has a positive impact on the bottom-line, and helps create more jobs and increase employee wages.

While it’s frustrating that my Democratic colleagues don’t see eye-to-eye with House Republicans on these issues, my Republican colleagues in the Senate are pushing through several other tax and regulation-reducing bills. Senate Bill 01 for instance, would help relax the punitive enforcement of new regulations on small businesses, and Senate Bill 09, that I am co-sponsoring, will reduce BPP tax by raising the exemption to $10,000.

Republicans are fighting for Colorado’s businesses and will continue to reach out to our Democrat colleagues to get some bipartisan support to reduce taxes and regulations on the private sector.

A bill requiring signature verification for candidate petitions as well as ballot issue petitions and providing the secretary of state the ability to develop a pilot program for an electronic petition process.

A bill requiring that abortion clinics file an annual registration with the attorney general that contains accurate statistics and provides the attorney general the right to make sure such clinics meet certain medical standards.Health, Insurance, &
Environment (Room 271, 1:30 p.m.)

A bill requiring that woman is given information regarding the option of an abortion pill reversal and ensuring that such information is adequately available.Health, Insurance, & Environment (Room 271, 1:30
p.m.)

A bill to prohibit the terminating the life of an unborn child, with the exception for medical procedures necessary to protecting the life of the mother.Health, Insurance, & Environment (Room 271, 1:30 p.m.)

In The News

They don’t expect to get it through the entire Legislature, but state lawmakers need to talk about it, two legislators said of their bill to do away with the state’s death penalty. The legislators, both Denver Democrats, said that while they don’t expect the bill to pass the Republican-controlled Senate, they believe it’s important to have as many conversations about the subject as possible. ("Lawmakers to discuss killing death penalty," Grand Junction Sentinel, 02/04/2017)

Republicans say they have identified the first step in drawing down the state’s multibillion-dollar unfunded pension liability: limiting employer contribution rates. A measure in the legislature would cap employer contribution rates for the Public Employees’ Retirement Association at 2018 levels. Senate Bill 113, introduced in the state Senate by Sen. Tim Neville, R-Littleton, was approved by the Senate Finance Committee today on a party-line vote and was sent to the full Senate for consideration. ("Stapleton, Capitol Republicans pitch plan to rein in PERA’s
exposure," ColoradoPolitics.com, 02/02/2017)

After a debate that consumed much of the morning, the Colorado Senate approved a headline-making bill that creates statewide training options for teachers and staff who pack heat at school. Both the protracted debate and the approval of the Republican bill in the GOP-controlled upper chamber were anticipated. (Gun training for school employees passes Colorado Senate, ColoradoPolitics.com, 02/03/2017)

Reports on the death of unions are greatly exaggerated, at least in Colorado. The Bureau of Labor Statistics report released last week shows union membership jumped from 8.4 percent of the workforce in 2015 to 9.8 percent last year. The Colorado AFL-CIO says that increase equates to about 44,000 more members. ("Colorado union membership rising, government stats say," ColoradoPolitics.com, 02/02/17)